Ambassador Bruce Oreck

Bruce Oreck served as the United States Ambassador to Finland from 2009 until 2015. During that time, he also served as the Chairman of the State Department’s League of Green Embassies and in that capacity achieved the first LEED® Platinum embassy building anywhere in the world.

Ambassador Oreck is the recipient of the United States Navy’s Distinguished Service Award (the highest award that the Secretary of the Navy may bestow on a civilian); The Alliance to Save Energy’s Charles H. Percy Award for Public Service and the City of Helsinki’s Golden Medal (the only non-Finn to ever have been presented this honor).

Prior to his work at the State Department, Ambassador Oreck practiced law specializing in business and taxation and represented many of the top 100 companies in America. In addition, he served as the Executive Vice-President and General Counsel for Oreck Corporation, the floorcare and consumer products company. Ambassador Oreck is the author of several tax treatises .

Ambassador Oreck obtained his Bachelor of Arts from The Johns Hopkins University, his Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University and his Masters of Law (Taxation) from New York University.

Currently Ambassador Oreck is an Executive in Residence at Aalto University in Helsinki focusing on business and entrepreneurship. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of USGBC, the largest and most influential high performance building and urban redesign organization in the world.